1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pest control devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to laser beam devices useful for repelling pests such as birds.
2. Description of the Related Art
Birds and animal pests are destructive to crops such as fruits, etc. Many devices have been proposed for frightening such pests away from a field or blinding or destroying pests, some of which are described below. One common device is a propane cannon which emits an intermittent loud noise, typically every five to ten minutes. It would be desirable to provide a system which frightens birds away from a field without the use of loud noises or mechanical devices which are effective over only a short distance and require substantial energy and maintenance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,652, issued Sep. 6, 1994, to Johnson, describes a pest control apparatus which emits a laser beam which uses a scanner to scan over a defined agricultural area while destroying the sensory organs of the pest and thus incapacitating the pest. The laser beam of the Johnson device is trained on the crops and thus may cause crop damage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,282, issued Jan. 12, 1999, to Odintsov describes a system for removing insects from a field by scanning the field by an aggregate light beam consisting of a search light and a superimposed laser light which attracts pests from the field and then turns away from the field with the trapped insects and dumps them at a distance away from the field where their eggs are laid in a non growth sustaining environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,551, issued Nov. 16, 1999, to Pueyo et al., describes a method for preserving an area against birds and pest animals by dislodging them from the area and permanently preventing them from settling in the area by using frightening devices such as rotating hunter mannequins, falcon imitators, and distress and special cries and other sound alarms.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,255 B1, issued Jun. 26, 2001, to Lenhardt et al., describes a method and apparatus for repelling birds from a specific area by using pulsing microwaves, vibration, or supersonic sound waves.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,949, issued Jun. 29, 1999, to Johnson, describes a method and apparatus for pest control by utilizing a laser beam to exterminate the pests behind solid barriers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,384,570 B2, issued May 7, 2002, to Matsuyama, describes a battery pack with a solar panel recharging system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,9908, issued Mar. 5, 2002, to Thomas, describes an apparatus employing a solar panel to recharge a battery for operating a device for scaring away pests, in particular, deer.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a pest deterrent solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The present invention is a repellent laser beam for preventing pests, such as birds, from feeding on fruits in an agricultural field. The device is mounted on a tripod and housed in a weather-protected box. The device is mounted so as to be adjustable in height and angle. In use, a control unit causes a laser beam to sweep a field in vertical and horizontal patterns, frightening birds and other pests away, preventing them from feeding on the fruits. The laser beam is of a wavelength seen by birds or other animals and merely frightens them away rather than blinding them. The patterns and speed of the scanning device are variable as controlled by the control system. The device is powered by a rechargeable gel pack battery. The device may be provided with a solar panel system for recharging the battery pack. Also, and importantly, the system is operable by photocell controlled switches, eliminating the need for human, manual on-off switching.
The range of wavelengths of the laser light beam is preferably from about 432 nanometers to about 633 nanometers. It is known that birds"" eyes are sensitive to both ultraviolet light and human-visible light. This subject is discussed in the article xe2x80x9cBird visionxe2x80x94Ultrasexyxe2x80x9d in The Economist, Aug. 9, 1997, pp. 71-72. This wavelength range is selected to maximize impact to a bird""s eye by choosing wavelengths which are within the overlap area of ultraviolet and human-visible light, thus increasing the effectiveness of the inventive device.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a system for frightening birds and other pests from feeding on fruit or other crops in a field.
It is another object of the invention to provide a system as above which is compact and requires a minimum amount of energy to operate.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system as above which does not blind or harm the birds or other animals
Still another object of the invention is to provide a system as above which employs a scanning laser light which is visible to and has particular impact on birds.
It is an object of the invention to provide a system as above which is operable by photocell controlled switches, eliminating the need for human, manual on-off switching.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a system as above which is mounted on a tripod, allowing it to be raised or lowered to a desired height and the scanning laser to be directed at a desired angle relative to the ground.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a system as above which is operated on battery packs recharged with solar panels.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.